Apparatus for use in developing photographic prints



June 12', 1934. A. w. RICHARDSON 1,962,364

APPARATUSFOR USE IN DEVELOPING PHOTOGRAPHIC PRINTS Filed Dec. 12, 1932 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Fig. 1.

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June 12, 1934. A. w. RICHARDSON APPARATUS FOR USE IN DEVELOPING PHOTOGRAPHIC PRINTS Filed Dec. 12, 1932 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 AnimaeVfillzbwRiahmbozz,

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ATTORNEYS.

Patented June 12, 1934 UNITED STATES APPARATUS FOR USE IN DEVELOPING PHOTOGRAPHIC PRINTS Ambrose William Richardson, London, England,

assignor to Eastman Kodak Company, Rochester, N. Y., a corporation of New York Application December 12, 1932, Serial No. 646,795 In Great Britain February 9, 1932 6 Claims.

This invention relates to apparatus for use in developing photographic prints and has for its object to provide apparatus whereby subjection of prints to the desired degree of treatment will be facilitated.

Apparatus according to the invention comprises a carrier, as for example a movable rack having compartments each adapted to receive and hold a photographic print with the plane of the print approximately vertical, a rotatable dish divided into radial compartments containing developing liquid and situated on a lower level than the rack, a chute through which photographic prints placed in the carrier fall directly and in succession into the compartments of the rotating dish as these compartments are brought successively below the lower end of the chute, and mechanism through which the carrier is moved and the dish is rotated in timed relation.

Preferably the carrier is in the form of a rack rotatable about a vertical axis and has radial compartments each adapted to receive and hold a photographic print with the plane of the print extending substantially radially with respect to the axis of rotation of the rack. Thus, the rack may comprise a hub carrying a number of radial blades each lying in a substantially vertical plane, the hub and blades being rotatable within a relatively fixed cylindrical base furnished with a radial delivery slot adjacent to the upper end of the chute. The rotatable hub and blades thus form with the cylindrical base a series of sectorshaped compartments for receiving the undevelv oped prints.

The chute is preferably arranged substantially at right angles to the length of the radial delivery slot in the cylindrical base 01" the rack and is inclined to the horizontal plane in which the developing dish rotates so that the leading edge of each print passing down the chute is substantially horizontal as it enters the developing liquid. The rack or carrier may be moved and the developing dish rotated by means of an electric motor gearing and shafting all mounted, if desired, on a common bed plate so that the driving and transmission mechanism form a single compact unit.

One construction according to the present invention is illustrated by way of example in the accompanying drawings, in which Figure 1 is a side elevation, partially in section, showing a preferred embodiment of my invention.

Figure 2 is a plan, partially in section and broken away to disclose the driving mechanism of the invention shown in Figure 1.

Figure 3 is a side elevation, partially in section, and on a reduced scale showing the general lay-out of the carrier, chute, developing dish and its rotating mechanism, and

Figure 4 is a plan of the installation shown in Figure 3.

In the construction illustrated, the rotatable rack or print carrier comprises a hub A carrying a number of radial blades A each lying in a vertical plane, the hub and its blades being rotatable about a vertical axis upon a relatively fixed cylindrical base B. The radial blades A and cylindrical base B thus form a series of sector-shaped compartments and the base is furnished with a radial delivery slot B (Figures 2 and 4) of approximately the same dimensions as the space between any two adjacent blades A The rotary print carrier is arranged adjacent to a printing desk or table indicated at C and a single rotary carrier can serve two printing stations indicated at C in Figures 3 and 4.

Communicating with the delivery slot B is a chute D arranged approximately at right angles to the length of the slot and inclined downwards towards a turntable E mounted to rotate about a vertical axis and carrying a dish F divided into a number of radial compartments or carrying a number of approximately sector-shaped dishes each containing developing liquid.

The rack A A and the developing dish F are rotated in timed relation by means or" an electric motor G from which the drive is transmitted through a horizontal shaft G connected by suitable gearings at its ends to the shaft A on which the carrier is mounted and the shaft E of the turntable. The motor G, chatting G and pedestal bearings for the vertical shafts A E are all mounted on a common base or bed plate H. This plate l-I further carries suitable supports J for the table, sink or similar structure indicated at J over which the developing dish rotates. It is thus possible easily to assemble this complete unit as after the necessary holes have been drilled in the table or sink the stay bolts J can be connected and the shaft E with its turntable can be secured to the rotatable socket mounted in the pedestal bearing on the base plate.

When the parts have been so assembled, then if the motor G is set in motion, the rack or distributor is rotated and also the developing dish F. Each of the operators at the printing stations C place undeveloped prints one by one in the compartment of the rotary rack nearest to them and the rack in rotating brings the compartment containing the print over the radial slot B so that the print falls through the slot into the delivery chute D and thence into one of the compartments of the developing dish F, i. e. into that compartment which is then passing below the lower end of the chute. As the chute D is at right angles to the length of the delivery slot B and as the chute is inclined to the dish F, the leading edge of each print passing down the chute is approximately horizontal when the print enters the developing liquid so that there is little risk of the developing solution flowing unevenly over the surface of the print or of the print being only partially immersed. The speed at which the rack rotates relatively to that of the developing dish is such that not more than a predetermined number of prints, say, two or three, will enter each compartment in the developing dish. When the compartment has been rotated through a predetermined arc the print, if properly exposed, is completely developed and can therefore be removed for washing and further treatment such as fixing. For this purpose there is conveniently provided adjacent to the rotary developing dish a circular dish K, conveniently divided into a number of radial compartments K each containing hypo, this dish or the turntable upon which it stands being rotatable by hand so that when one compartment contains sufficient prints a fresh compartment can be brought into use. As shown in Figures 3 and 4, the hypo. dish is preferably arranged so that it extends through a partition L permitting an operator on the other side of the partition to remove the prints before immersing them in a rotary or other washing machine when the fixing operation is complete.

The apparatus above described can be very easily installed as all the moving parts and their bearings are formed as a unit upon the base plate H. When installed, the prints after being placed in the rotary carrier need no further attention until they are removed from the developing dish at a point in its revolution adjacent to the dish containing the fixing solution or to an intermediate washing tank, and in this Way the prints are uniformly developed and there is no loss of time due to handling between the printing, developing, washing and fixing operations. Moreover, uniform output of developed prints is maintained even when the rotary carrier is not fed at regular intervals with undeveloped prints since the rotary carrier distributes the prints at regular intervals to the developing dish.

Although a rotary carrier is preferably employed, it will be understood that the constructional features may be modified without departing from the invention and I contemplate as within the scope of my invention any such modifications as may come within the scope of the following claims.

What I claim as my invention and desire to secure by Letters Patent is:-

1. In apparatus for use in developing photographic prints the combination with a movable rack or carrier having compartments each adapted to receive and hold an undeveloped print with the plane of the print approximately vertical, of a rotatable dish comprising a number of radial compartments each adapted to contain developing liquid and situated on a lower plane than the rack, a chute through which the prints placed in the several compartments of the rack fall directly and in succession into the rotating compartments of the dish as they are brought successively below the lower end of the chute, and mechanism through which the rack is moved and the dish is rotated in timed relationship.

2. In apparatus for use in developing photographic prints the combination with a movable rack or carrier rotatable about a vertical axis and having radial compartments each adapted to receive and hold an undeveloped print with the plane of the print approximately vertical, of a rotatable dish divided into a number of radial compartments each adapted to contain developing liquid and situated on a lower level than the rack, a chute through which the prints placed in the several compartments of the rack fall directly and in succession into the several compartments of the rotating dish as they are brought successively below the lower end of the chute, and mechanism through which the rack and dish are rotated in timed relationship.

3. In apparatus for use in developing photographic prints the combination with a movable rack or carrier rotatable about an axis and having radial compartments each adapted to receive and hold an undeveloped print with the plane of the print approximately vertical, of a rotatable dish divided into a number of radial compartments each adapted to contain developing liquid and situated on a lower level than the rack, a chute through which prints placed in the several compartments of the rack fall directly and in succession into the several compartments of the rotating dish as they are brought successively below the lower end of the chute, and a bed plate carrying a prime mover gearing and shafting for driving the rack and developing dish in timed relationship the whole forming a single assembly unit.

4. In apparatus for use in developing photographic prints the combination with a movable rack or carrier rotatable about a vertical axis and having radial compartments each adapted to receive and hold an undeveloped print with the plane of the print approximately vertical, of a rotatable dish divided into a number of radial compartments each adapted to contain developing liquid and situated on a lower level than the rack, a chute through which the prints in the several compartments of the rack may fall directly and in succession into the several compartments of the rotating dish as they are brought successively below the lower end of the chute, said rack comprising a hub provided with a number of radial blades each lying in a substantially vertical plane rotatable within a relatively fixed cylindrical base furnished with a radial delivery slot adjacent to the upper end of the inclined delivery chute, the slot being preferably substantially at right angles to the chute.

5. In apparatus for use in developing photographic prints the combination with a movable carrier including compartments each adapted to receive undeveloped prints, of a movable dish including compartments adapted to receive prints, and adapted to contain a developer for said prints, means for delivering prints from the movable carrier to the movable dish comprising a chute, means included in the movable carrier for delivering one print at a time to the chute and developing dish, and power driven mechanism adapted to operate the movable carrier and movable dish in timed relation.

6. In apparatus for use in developing photographic prints the combination with a movable carrier including a plurality of compartments each adapted to receive a single undeveloped print, of a movable dish including a plurality of compartments each adapted to receive an undeveloped print, a chute leading from the carrier to the dish, and a power operated means including connections to the carrier and to the dish adapted to move the carrier and dish in timed relation whereby both the carrier and dish may move a compartment into operative relation to the chute.

AMBROSE WILLIAM RICHARDSON. 

